Book Repair and Restoration: A Manual of Practical Suggestions for Bibliophiles

by Mitchell S. Buck

When the leather at the corner is entirely dilapidated an entirely new corner of triangular form should be supplied, pasted down level with the leather on the cover, which has been cut away smoothly where the new corner is joined on. If the corner of the board is itself tattered, it can be stiffened by the use of paste or glue, thoroughly soaked in and left to dry. A little Spanish white might be added to the paste to give it more solidity.

But when the angle of the corner is entirely rounded, weakened and demolished by use, it should be renewed by incorporating an entirely new corner on the board. To fasten this securely, the edge of the board should be cut across at an angle of forty-five degrees, then split, and the upper half cut away for a short distance back. The new triangular piece for the corner is also notched underneath to correspond so that the two patches will superimpose and exactly fit. Here one makes use of strong paste or glue. This operation is not difficult but it requires time and patience, for a considerable amount of leather must be raised from the board and then replaced. If one is not endowed with patience, it is better to turn this work over to a binder, otherwise one will work to no purpose and will damage his book instead of restoring it.

REPAIRING EDGES. To remove a spot of ink or color from the edges of a book, the substance described for similar operations on pages or prints may be used. However, there is this distinction; here one is not concerned with the surface of a single sheet but with a great many page-edges one after another. If the edges to be cleaned are not placed under pressure, the liquids, penetrating between them, will stain the pages themselves. If, however, the ink itself has thus spread into the pages, it might be desirable to send the dissolving liquid over the same route. In this case, it will be necessary to efface from each page the moisture following the application of the remedy, and this requires careful work.

If, on the contrary, the spot soils merely the surface of the edges, the volume should be placed under pressure in such a position that the edges to be cleaned stand vertical; then, with a small brush, the necessary liquid may be applied. The spot removed (supposing that it is of a nature which may be decomposed) it is necessary, in some cases, to restore the general tint of the edges; this is not a very difficult matter, at least when they are not marbled. When the edges are gilt, the gold is not usually attacked and naturally resists the action of the chemical agents; the ink or other spot can thus be removed without necessitating the restoration of the gold afterward. A spot may sometimes be removed with a dampened sponge.[20] Even Chinese ink, a black which will not decompose, is often susceptible to this gentle procedure by means of which it may be wiped away.

Let us now suppose that the edges are free from spots but that they are faded, and partly discolored. It is easy enough to brighten the colors if they are not too complicated; I will add; and provided the pages are not unequal, with some advanced and some drawn back, destroying the general level, for, in this case, it is necessary to begin by repairing the back without separating the volume; an almost impossible operation.[21] The color brightened, it may be repolished with an agate burnisher while the edges are held closely pressed together. If edges, not colored, but gilt, have been damaged here and there by use, perfect restoration is impracticable. A new patch of gold applied over the worn spot contrasts in freshness and polish with the rest of the surface and, at the points where it necessarily overlaps the perfect parts, the excess gold remains noticeable. Undoubtedly, the best procedure is to have the whole surface regilded by a professional gilder.

If one has gone to the trouble of brightening the edges, one may desire to complete the restoration by renewing the head-bands. I have never had patience enough to make a head-band, a kind of needle-work which belongs particularly to the bookbinders’ trade. The amateur should have recourse to a binder for this or, if he wishes to attempt the work himself, consult any of the books published on binding.

RESTORING THE GILDING.[22] It is sometimes necessary to brighten, patch and partially replace the gilt ornaments of a precious book. In cleaning a book, as I have described above, with soap-jelly or starch paste, the gold is not affected if the operation is carried out according to directions; on the contrary, one lifts from the gold the deposit of dirt which deadens its brilliancy. But if it has been, at some points, destroyed by the breaks in the leather, it is necessary, in order to restore the gold, to refinish the leather at the broken point. Here a considerable difficulty presents itself, and it is necessary to find a filler which will serve as a base. Gutta-percha will not answer at such points, except for cold gilding, as the application of a warm gilding iron would liquefy it. The only satisfactory solution is to inlay with leather.

I have sometimes succeeded in restoring missing spots of gilding by the simple employment of gilt paint, laid with a fine brush upon the properly prepared patch, imitating carefully each missing part of the ornamentation. This kind of joining, however, lacks brilliance and solidity; wiping with a damp sponge is sufficient to effect it; but it may be given a little more permanency by a coat of binders’ varnish.

I can suggest a less imperfect method of procedure. Where there are thin lines or figures such as circles to join, the amateur can do this with home-made tools. Such tools may be made of small brass wire, some straight edges and others curved like gouges.[23] He should also have small dots of various sizes, circular or oval in profile. With these simple elements, most line designs may be patched. The ground properly prepared, the warm iron tool to be used is applied upon fragments of gold-leaf. The iron should be a little hotter than boiling water; otherwise it will not fix the gold in place. If too hot, it will burn the leather. Gilders test the heat of an iron by touching it with a wet finger, and are able to tell, by the sizzle and amount of vapor given off, whether the degree of heat is right. A more simple method, for the amateur, is to try the iron on a fragment of leather.[24] The excess of gold not pressed in by the iron may be wiped off with a fragment of woolen cloth.

If it is necessary to restore a complicated ornament upon an ancient and very precious binding, special irons must be cut, using the tooling still in place as a guide. With patience and skill, one may fashion these for himself. The required ornamentation is traced from another spot where it is still intact on the binding, with a brush holding resin varnish or wax. This tracing, which naturally leaves an imprint in reverse, is applied to a piece of copper, and the design retouched on the copper with the same varnish or wax.[25] The other faces of the cube or cylinder of copper used are coated, and the copper placed in a bath of azotic acid. The acid will eat the metal not protected as above, leaving the ornament standing out in relief, something after the manner of a stereotype plate. Or, the electro-chemical procedure of stereotyping may be used to the same end.